my reviews of books I have read

Blurb

For fans of The Girl on the Train, Before I Go to Sleep, and The Silent Wife, the new psychological thriller from New York Times bestselling author Avery Aster warns readers: the first year of marriage is killer.

Barclay is Manhattan’s premiere cooperative—the kind of place everyone who’s anyone desires to reside in. That’s what psychotherapist Piper Adler believes as she moves into the garden apartment with her new husband, but then she wakes up in a hospital accused of trying to take her own life. Her dreams of being a wife and mother destroyed along with her career as a mental health professional, she sets off on a mind-bending course to discover the truth.

Unraveling a web of deceit forces Piper to second-guess her family, her friends, and even herself. With each terrifying revelation, she must come to terms with the fact that those she thought she knew aren’t who they seem, and someone trusted very close to her wants her gone. Will she beat them at their own game or die trying?

Fusing nail-biting suspense with potent storytelling, THE PAPER YEAR will keep you on the edge of your seat with an unforgettable cast of characters who are compelled to do the unthinkable to survive.

REVIEW

*** I voluntarily reviewed this book, I gained no monetary incentives nor was I specifically requested to review the book, these are my honest ramblings and I hope you enjoy reading them – kat***

Okay – I have loved Avery Asters Manhattanites since winning a paperback of Yours Truly, Taddy I have read both series, they are hot, fast and funny.

I applaud Avery for deciding to write something different, I enjoyed it – BUT…
The story is hashed out in short form at the beginning – supposedly I guess to get the reader excited for the story.

[quote] nail-biting suspense and potent storytelling, THE PAPER YEAR will keep you on the edge of your seat with an unforgettable cast of Characters who are compelled to do the unthinkable to survive[Unquote]

It’s not quite as good as those first two series nor is it very twisted/ suspenseful… I am sorry to say but I never felt like biting my nails or being on the edge of my seat ( or sitting up in bed – that’s where I was when I was reading it) – flicking pages fast yes, feeling like that no – sorry Avery, but Lily Whites Wake to Dream – that was suspenseful that had me nail-biting.

The book starts to get there but I think it needs a bit more depth, I read this in 3 hours – 141 pages ( I was engrossed wanting to know what happened, that is for sure) but I think this could have been a higher star book if there had been more – more ‘accidents’ or situations, more depth into the situations our character was put in, more about the apparent sudden change of heart our supposedly in love husband did ( he was not very supportive of his wife at all!).

It does have the same flavour of the Manhattanites, Sutton Place is Manhattan’s premiere cooperative

Our main character is psychotherapist Piper Adler , she thinks their life will be perfect now that they have moved into the garden apartment at ‘The Barcley’ with her new husband, Boden – they got it cheap because they are going to blast the ‘poo’ (Amazon friendly word) out of the basement when the underground tunnel extension is done (All I could imagine was the building falling down, I’d never buy an apartment that they were going to do that to!)

The characters are listed in the beginning… I guess to give you an idea to who you think may have ‘done it’.

Piper – Psychotherapist, married to Boden – an investment banker, who are trying to adopt because Piper can’t have kids, they have their pooch Orlane – yes he is down in the cast of characters. as a soft coated wheaten terrier (had to search the tinternet to see what the heck dog it was)
we have Reid – the gay neighbour – who walks Orlane in the afternoons. Maxine who is the realtor who lives in the Penthouse. Jana – Afro-Dutch supermodel and mother her house husband Hollis. Carmine the doorman and Keely who is a patient of Pipers.

So In the end, ignoring the hype, I would say its deserving the 3 star, I enjoyed the book, you are kept guessing to who would want to ruin Piper’s life, and the characters have enough going on that each one of them looks a bit guilty.
It was, just… not enough, as I said above that all this ‘hype’ in the blurb, has not helped the book. the Epilogue is over too fast as well. If more time was put into the storyline, more incidents and more depth into what Piper was going through psychologically then it would have been a higher rating.

Also how Piper could forgive Boden so quickly was beyond me, he was so quick to leave her, so cruel to her when she is told she can no longer adopt due to the situation with her hospitalisation.

But that’s my personal view on how a husband and wife should act (but I have more experience on that, married for 31 years!)

Give the book a go and see what you think, the writing style is good as always, the book doesn’t have any of the humor nor does it have any sex in it, so be warned those who are thinking that it will do.

Excerpt

Glancing down at the watch my husband gave me when we first married, I notice the time: ten minutes to eight. I’m fucked.

Any minute now the demolition crew will blow this basement into a gazillion pieces. I imagine my body combusting like an overcooked dinner that had been left in the microwave for far too long on the highest power. My arms would be found somewhere on FDR Drive. My legs would smack the roof of a nearby cab. I thought about my dentist, Dr. Sabbagh, having to identify my skull using dental records. And my mother in Westchester; I can already hear her saying, “I told Piper she should’ve never gotten married to someone as good-looking as Boden Adler.”

My hands, cut and bloody from fighting while trying to defend myself, start to shake uncontrollably. Reaching for the edge of the cage that I’m locked into, I throw myself onto the mesh metal with every ounce of energy left inside me, praying the door comes loose.

Locked from the other side, it doesn’t budge.

Fear pounds in my heart, blood thumps through my ears. The florescent lights that have given me hope like a warm blanket for the last hour fade to darkness.

Exhausted, I surrender, collapsing onto the cold cement floor.

“You got your chance. You should’ve left when I told you,” the voice yells from the top of the stairs. “Goodbye.”

Never in a million years did I think I’d die like this.

GIVEAWAY

AUTHOR BIO

New York Times bestselling author Avery Aster pens The Manhattanites, a contemporary erotic romance series of full-length, stand-alone novels, and the naughty new adult prequel companion series The Undergrad Years. Join Avery’s newsletter eepurl.com/CQ665 and get a FREE ebook!